DIRECTORY QUESTIONNAIRE & SURVEY 2006
A Survey of Environmental Civil Society Organizations in SEE
An Invitation to Co-operate
Dear colleagues,
A research group at the REC invites you to take part in a survey being conducted to update its current
directory of environmental non-governmental organizations and to assess the needs and problems of Environmental
Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in South Eastern Europe (SEE). This research is part of a larger project of support
for environmental groups (called SECTOR) being carried out by REC from 2006 to 2010, funded by the Swedish
International Development and Co-operation Agency (Sida).
This survey will have two practical outcomes. Firstly, it would enable your environmental organisation to be included
into the new directory of environmental organisations on the national and regional (SEE) level. The directory serves as
an important information resource for all individuals and groups interested in the environmental movements in the SEE
countries and is the most searched database on the REC’s website. CSO members, government officials, business
people, scientists, journalists use the directory for communicating with those organizations which share a common
interest or for identifying possible partners for joint projects. An update of this directory is an important and necessary
task.
Secondly, the questionnaire will help us in preparation and planning of the other forms of support through the SECTOR
programme, namely: an organisational assessment tool for CSOs; a grant programme for projects focussed on
community activities, urban environment and sustainability issues; assisting the development and operation of CSO
networks; and in providing training on key CSO skills. These support activities are already under development and will
be launched towards the end of 2006, their design will benefit greatly from your inputs through this survey.
These results will be published through the next edition of the NGO directory and will be used to publicise the work of
environmental groups in SEE and to press for more support for them. Therefore your inputs will greatly assist us and
all CSOs in SEE. The completed form should be returned to me by June 19, 2006.
Please feel free to pass a copy on to your colleagues in other CSOs should they have any interest in taking part in this
research. Don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any questions about completing the form.
Yours sincerely
Merita Mehmed, Project Manager
REC FO Kosovo/a
mmehmed@kos.rec.org
To whom is this Questionnaire addressed?
This Questionnaire is addressed to all Environmental Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). If you can answer positively
to the questions below, then it is addressed also to your organization and we would ask you to fill it in:
►Your organization is defined as officially registered or an otherwise clearly identifiable group of citizens or other
public associations;
► You do not act as an official governmental body nor you are affiliated with government;
► You are not-for-profit (non-commercial);
► You function at a local, regional, national and/or international level;
► Your main purpose relates to the promotion of one or more of the following:
o protection and conservation of environment;
o the sustainable use of natural resources and renewables;
o traditional cultural values and knowledge leading to a decrease in of society’s environmental
impact;
o environmentally friendly development, policies and projects ;
o governance principles leading to creation of an enabling environment for environmental protection
and sustainable development (i.e., anti-corruption measures, transparency, accountability, public
participation).
►Your organization has a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others,
based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, or philanthropic considerations.
►Your are based in the following territories of South Eastern Europe (SEE): Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia,
the former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Serbia & Montenegro, and Kosovo (currently under UN
administration).
If you are a representative of such an organization in one of the selected countries, the Questionnaire is addressed to
you and your colleagues. However, please note that in this assessment, trade unions, political organizations, faith
based groups, business associations and academic institutions are excluded from the target population.
How to fill in the Questionnaire?
Since the survey is targeted at groups, rather than at specific individuals, the Questionnaire should be completed by an
executive representative of an Environmental CSO (chairman or chairwoman, president, etc., or their deputies). We
would particularly welcome a collective work of the organization's managerial staff as well. However, each
organization, or its particular branch/subdivision, should fill in only one Questionnaire.
As you will see, the questionnaire is divided into two parts:
Part A is used for your organisations’ entry into the new 2006 NGO directory. Information in Part A of the
questionnaire will be collected and published in the same order as it appears in the questionnaire and will be available
in printed and on-line versions. The directory will in English and in the respective national languages.
Part B part is a deeper assessment of the CSOs. The data entered here will be aggregated and used for the analytical
part of REC’s survey assessing the status and needs of the Environmental CSOs in SEE. Part B questions will not be
published in the separate entry about your organization. Information in part B of this questionnaire is confidential and
the information provided will be kept confidential, it will not be revealed to a third party and will not be published or
distributed. The information will be used for statistical and research purposes only.
While filling in the Questionnaire, please follow carefully the instructions provided for each question. You can return the
questionnaire as an attachment in email or by normal post as hard copy.
Please return this form to the REC Country Office by June 26, 2006.
Thank you for your attention to these details and for your help with this survey.